Device for feeding sheet material



Oct. 16, 1934. R Q D m 1,976,775

DEVICE -FOR FEEDING SHEET MATERIAL Filed Dec. 29 1931 s Sheets-Sheet 1Oct. 16, 1934. Q R QFREDERmK 1,976,775

DEVICE FOR FEEDING SHEET MATERIAL Filed Dec 29, 1951 s sheets-sheet 2Em-J Oct. 16, 1934. R O FREDERICKv 1,976,775 '7 v DEVICE FOR FEEDINGSHEET MATERIAL Filed Dec. 29, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 MA?- 5 J IA WPatented cf. 1%, 193 4 UITED STATES PATEr rice Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in mechanism for feeding sheetmaterial into position to be operated upon by a cutting device or thelike.

5 It is an object of this invention to feed sheet material into positionto be severed or otherwise operated upon in increments of varyinglengths. It is a further object to vary the length of the increments ofmaterial fed from the feeding device while continuing the operation ofthe cutting or other operating mechanism. Still another object is toprovide for an unobstructed view of the sheet material during itspassage through the machine.

Other objects will be apparent from the speciiication and from theaccompanying drawings in which latter Fig. 1 is a perspective View withparts broken away showing the outer side and end of the housingsupporting the machine with parts of the machine protruding from thehousing.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the interior of the housing showing theportion of the twirler and the variable spacer within the housing andwith the platen removed for clarity of illustration.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the housing with parts broken away alongthe line II-II of Fig. 1 showing the mechanism within the interior ofthe housing.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line IVIV ofFig. 3 partly through the platen and through its twirlers.

Fig. 5 is a perspective longitudinal sectional view through the variablespacer A with its constituent parts separated for clarity ofillustration.

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view through the variable spacertaken along the line VIVI of Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a front view of arm from eccentric to platen of thepositioning cam and connection.

Fig. 8 is an end elevational view of the device with the receptacle forreceiving the out material removed, and

Fig. 9 is a top view of lower or stationary knife.

Fig. 10 is a transverse sectional View taken along the line XX of Fig.9.

Referring. particularly to the drawings, a sup- 50 porting frame isshown comprising a base plate 1,

' an end wall 2, and side walls 3 and 4. The end wall 2 carries meansfor severing sheet material into lengths. The means comprises astationary knife 7 with its supporting frame which is rigidly aifixed tothe end wall 2. The knife is adjustable forwardly or otherwise. An upperknife 8 is mounted for reciprocatory movement to and from the fixedknife '7. The knife 8 is carried by a supporting frame 10 whichreciprocates in guideways 11 which are in turn rigidly carried by theend wall 2. The frame 10 carries a cam roll 13, see Fig. 8, which worksin the camway of a closed cam 14 and is driven in vertical reciprocationthereby. The cam 14 is driven in rotation by a main drive shaft 15 whichis actuated by a motor 16 through a suitable clutch 1'2. The clutch isactuated to connect or disconnect the driveshaft with the motor by meansof a suitable operating lever 19.

The sheet material is fed over a platen or feed roll 23 into the desiredposition between the open knives. A shaft 24 protrudes from the oppositeends of the platen and is rotatably supported in suitable bearings inthe side walls 3 and 4 of the supporting structure. The surface of theplaten intermediate its ends is knurled so as to procure a good gripupon the sheet material. A pressure roll 25 cooperates with the uppersurface of the platen to facilitate the feeding of sheet material acrossthe platen with a minimum of gripping or slipping of the sheet materialwith respect to the platen. The pressure roll 25 is carried rotatably bybrackets 26 which are in turn rotatably supported upon a shaft 27secured to a support 28. The weight of the pressure roll is partiallyoffset by means of a helical spring 29 one end of which is secured tothe support 28 and the other end is secured to the bracket 26intermediate the shaft 27 and the pressure roll. A crank 30 can beoperated manually to lift the pressure roll 25 from the platen.

A variable spacer or positioning mechanism A is associated with the lefthand end of the platen shaft 24 as viewed in Figs. 4 and 5. The variablespacer A includes a twirler 35 which is non-rotatably secured to theplaten shaft Z l by means of a set screw 36. The twirler is providedwith a flanged end 37. Power todrive the shaft is transmitted throughthe twirler by means of a clutch member 38 through lugs 39 in the flange37 which interlock with slots 40 in the clutch member 38 as clearlyshown in Fig. 5. The clutch member 38 is movable longitudinally of theshaft by a helical spring 41 into engagement with a cooperating clutchmember 42 which is mounted for rotation upon the shaft 24. The clutchmember 42 is mounted as a unit with a spacing or driving ratchet 43 anda positioning cam 44 by means of a sleeve 45 which projects laterallyfrom the cam 44. The unit is driven in intermittent rotation through theratchet 43. Power transmitted through the ratchet 43 therefore rotatesthe platen. The rotational position of the platen with respect to theunit can be roughly adjusted at the beginning of the feeding operationby disengaging the clutch members 38 and 42, and rotating the twirler35. Upon reengagement of the clutch members the entire positioningmechanism is locked in place. A similar twirler 46 facilitates theadjustment of the rotational position of the platen.

The platen is driven in intermittent rotation from the main drive-shaft15 through a spacing cam 4'7 rigidly mounted upon the drive-shaft, thecam surface of which is engaged by a cam follower 48. The cam follower48 is carried by a spacing lever 49 pivoted at 50. The lever 49 engagesa spacing arm 51 which in turn is connected to a pawl bracket 52 whichis rotatably associated with the spacing ratchet 43. The pawl bracket 52carries rotatably a pawl 54 for engagement with the spacing ratchet 43.In the embodiment illustrated the spacing arm 51 on its upward strokecauses the pawl 54 to engage enough teeth on the ratchet 43 so that itsdownward stroke will turn the entire assembly a quarter of a revolution.

The positioning cam 44 is adapted to be engaged during the periods ofrest of the platen by means for holding the platen in locked stationaryposition while the sheet material is being severed by the cuttingknives. The periphery of the positioning cam is undulant to formalternating low and high spots with the peripheral walls adjoining thelow spots being inclined radially outwardly. In the embodimentillustrated, see Figs. 3 and '7, the positioning cam is provided withfour low spots whereby the platen is held locked in stationary positionat the end of each quarter revolution.

The locking means for the positioning cam comprises a guideway 57 whichis pivotally mounted at 58 to the side wall 3 of the supporting frame asshown in Figs. 1 and 7. A pitman 59 is reciprocably mounted within theguideway 5'7 with a protruding end carrying a roll 60-. The roll 60 uponthe upward stroke of the pitman nests within the pocket formed by one ofthe low spots of the positioning cam and its adjoining inclined walls.The positioning pitman 59 is reciprocated by means of a positioninglever 61 which is pivotally supported at 62 and which carries a camfollower 63. The cam follower 63 is actuated by a positioning cam 64mounted upon the main drive shaft 15. A helical spring 65 secured to thepitman 59 and to the wall 3 tends to maintain the pitman in withdrawnposition with respect to the positioning cam 44. The guideway 57 carriesa pawl knock-off arm 67 op erative to disengage the pawl 54 at the endof the downward spacing stroke of the pawl. The entire assembly is heldin proper fixed position by engagement of the roll 60 with thepositioning cam.

An auxiliary variable spacer B is provided for varying the rotationalposition of the platen while the machine is in operation. This variablespacer operates to pivot the guideway 5'7 to adjusted position and lackthe guideway in its adjusted position whereby the roll 60 upon movementupwardly initially strikes one of the inclined walls laterally of thelow spot and forces the platen in partial revolution until the rollnests against the low spot. The shaft 70 is held against rotation bymeans of a clutch member '75 rigidly aflixed to the side wall 3 andwhich cooperates with a clutch sleeve '76. The clutch sleeve is normallyheld in engagement with clutch member '75 by means of a helical spring'77, one end of which abuts against a flange '78 of a twirler '79.Twirler '79 is secured to the shaft '70 by means of a set screw 80. Alug 81, see Fig. 1, on the flange '78 engages in a slot 82 in thetwirler to prevent relative rotation of the clutch sleeve '76 andtwirler '79. The engagement of the clutch members can be broken bymanually pulling the clutch sleeve against the tension of the helicalspring '77 to permit manual rotation of the positioning means. Releaseof the clutch sleeve locks the positioning means in adjusted position.

The shaft '70 of the auxiliary variable spacer B may be rotated at anytime while the machine is in operation. A clockwise rotation as viewedin Fig. 1 of the shaft '70 will throw the upper portion of the guideway57 toward the spacing rod 51. As the machine operates, rod 51 is carrieddownward through the movement of arm 49. The upper part of rod 51carries pawl 54. When rod 51 is carried downward, the tail of pawl 54contacts on arm 67 which causes pawl 54 to be released from spacingratchet 43 somewhat sooner. The positioning pitman 59 is forced upwardinto the pitman pocket of cam 44, thus holding the platen in position.By means of this adjustment the platen will not rotate a full quarterturn and consequently a relatively narrow strip of material will besevered. If the guideway 57 is left in this position during anothermachine operation the spacing pawl 54 will be disengaged at the sametime but the upper part of the positioning pitman will ride on thesurface of the cam 44 and force the platen to make a full quarter turnand will continue to cut off full width strips of the sheet materialuntil the guideway 5'7 is again moved. By rotating the shaft '70anti-clockwise as viewed in Fig. 1, the guideway 5'7 will be moved awayfrom the spacer arm 51 whereby the spacing pawl 54 will disengage laterand a relatively wide strip of sheet material will be out. On the nextmachine operation the pitman 59 performs the same operation as above toinsure that the platen will be turned an exact quarter turn.

In utilizing the machine for cutting a sheet of paper into tickets, thesheet is threaded with the printed side up between the pressure roll 25and the platen 23 to the knife edge. Operating bar 19 is depressed topermit the main drive shaft 15 to be driven. The platen turns and thepaper feeds through open knives. After the spacing arm 51 has reachedits downward limit of travel the pawl 54 is disengaged from the ratchet.At this time the positioning pitman 59 is forced upward into a pocket ofthe positioning cam 44 therebypositioning'the platen. As soon as thepositioning pitman 59 is engaged with a pocket of the cam 44 the platenis held firm in its position while the knives are actuated to cut off a.ticket from the paper. When the operating bar 19 is locked in depressedposition, the machine runs continuously. When the operating bar 19 isdepressed and then released the machine operates only once. The machinealways stops at the same position when the operating bar is released dueto the following mechanism: The driven shaft 15, Fig. 3, has pinned toit clutch member 17. Clutch member 17 has fastened to it clutch pawl1707. When motor bar 19 is released, as shown in Fig. 3, release pawl17b is held in position, as shown, and is's'o constructed as to preventclutchpawl 17a from passing by. The normal position of the machine whenstopped is with the knife 8 elevated andnthe platen in locked position.

By the construction described adjustment of the tickets with respect tothe cutting knives can .be accomplished with speed and accuracy. Alsothe adjustment can be effected while the machine is in operation.

While the device has been described as applied to a machine for cuttingsheet material into strips, it will be understood that it can be utilized for feeding sheet material to a wrapping machine, or for any otherpurpose for which an accurately determined amount of the sheet materialshould be supplied in successive increments.

Various changes may be made within the scope of the appended claims inwhich it is desired to claim all novelty inherent in the invention asbroadly as the prior art permits.

I claim:

1. In a feeding device, a roll for feeding a strip of material andincluding a shaft protruding from the ends of the roll, means forrotatably supporting the shaft, means for intermittently driving theshaft 9. fraction of a revolution, means for locking the shaft inposition during its periods of rest, and means operating upon the lastmentioned means for altering the rotary position of the shaft during itsperiods of rest.

2. In a feeding device, a roll for feeding a strip of material andincluding a shaft protruding from the ends of the roll, means forrotatably supporting the shaft, means for intermittently driving theshaft in rotation, and means for moving the shaft clockwise orcounter-clockwise to a locked position during its periods of rest.

3. In a feeding device, a roll for feeding a strip of material andincluding a shaft protruding from the ends of the roll, means forrotatably supporting the shaft, means for intermittently driving theshaft in rotation, a cam driven by the shaft and including spaced lowspots in its periphery, a locking device movable into position to engagethe adjoining low spot, means for actuating the locking device duringone of the periods of rest to engage the low spot, and means for varyingthe position on the circumference of the cam at which the locking meansengages the low spot.

i. In a feeding device, a roll for feeding a strip of material andincluding a shaft protruding from the ends of the roll, means forrotatably supporting the shaft, means for intermittently driving theshaft in rotation, a cam mounted for rotation with the shaft, theperiphery of the cam being undulant to form alternate low and highspots, a guideway, a pitman reciprocably mounted in the guideway, meansfor actuating the pitman forwardly to engage an adjoining low spotduring a period of rest, and means for varying the position of theguideway whereby the pitman will engage the sidewall of a high spot tocause partial rotation of the cam on seeking the low spot.

5. In a feeding device, a roll for feeding a strip of material andincluding a shaft protruding from the ends of the roll, means forrotatably supporting the shaft, means for intermittently driving theshaft in rotation, a cam mounted for rotation with the shaft, the camhaving spaced low spots in its periphery the walls adjoining which areinclined outwardly, a guideway, a pitman mounted for reciprocation inthe guideway toward and from the cam, means for moving the pitmanagainst the adjoining low spot during a period of rest whereby the shaftis locked in position, and positioning means for changing the positionat which the pitman engages the cam whereby the pitman by first engagingthe inclined Walls of the cam efiects rotational translation of the cam.

6. A feeding device according to claim 4 in which the positioning meanscomprises a shaft mounted for manual rotation, a link eccentricallyconnected to the shaft and connected to the guideway for altering theposition of the guideway, and means for holding the shaft in adjustedposition.

7. A feeding device according to claim 4 in which the positioning meanscomprises a shaft, means for rotatably supporting the shaft, a linkeccentrically attached to the shaft and connected to the guideway forcontrolling the position of the guideway, and a clutch yieldably holdingthe shaft to the supporting means in adjusted position.

8. In a feeding device a roll for feeding a strip of material includinga shaft protruding from the ends of the roll, means for rotatablysupporting the shaft, driving means and a cam rotatably mounted as aunit on the shaft, a clutch for non-rotatably securing the unit to theshaft in a fixed position, means for actuating the driving means tointermittently rotate the shaft, the cam having spaced low spots theadjoining walls of which are radially outwardly inclined, a lockingdevice movable into position to engage the adjoining low spot, means foractuating the locking device during one of the periods of rest to engagethe low spot, and means for varying the position on the circumference ofthe cam at which the locking means engages the low spot.

9. In a feeding device a roll for feeding a strip of material includinga shaft protruding from the ends of the roll, means for rotatablysupporting the shaft, driving means and a cam rotatably mounted as aunit on the shaft, a clutch for non-rotatably securing the unit to theshaft in a fixed position, means associated with the clutch for manuallyadjusting the relative rotational position of the driving means and camupon the shaft, means for actuating the driving means to intermittentlyrotate the shaft, the cam having spaced low spots the adjoining walls ofwhich are radially outwardly inclined, a locking device movable intoposition to engage the adjoining low spot, means for actuating thelooking device during one of the periods of rest to engage the low spot,and means for varying the position on the circumference of the cam atwhich the locking means engages the low spot.

10. In a feeding device, a roll for feeding the strip of materialincluding a shaft protruding from the ends of the roll, means forrotatably supporting the shaft, a ratchet non-rotatably mounted upon theshaft, a pawl engaging the ratchet, means for actuating the pawl tosuccessively rotate the shaft a fraction of a revolution, a camnon-rotatably carried by the shaft and provided with spaced low spots,means for securing the ratchet and cam non-rotatably to the shaft, meansfor manually adjusting the relative rotational position of the ratchetand cam upon the shaft, a guideway, means pivotally supporting one endof the guideway, a positioning pitman protruding from the opposite endof the guideway, means for reciprocating the pitman a link connected tothe shaft laterally of its center of rotation and connected to theguiqeway laterally of :the' pivotal supporting means for the guideway,whereby the position at which the pitman engages the low spot isadjusted, and means for fixing the shaft in adjusted rotary position.

' RAY O. FREDERICK.

